Post Notes

SAME Post Leaders are encouraged to publicize the recent activities and accomplishments of their Posts by submitting 500- to 1,000-word articles and high-resolution photos for publication in the Post Notes section of the SAME website or on the SAME Bricks and Clicks Blog. To submit a Post item for Post Notes, please complete the online for at www.same.org/blogsubmission.

Another exceptional, well attended event was facilitated by the SAME-Orange County Post on November 14th, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, California. The Symposium encourages dialog and the development of connections between the engineering industry and Federal entities.

Mobile, AL – Mike Thompson was presented with the SAME Regional Vice President Medal during the Mobile Post meeting in February. Thompson was recognized for his outstanding leadership as a dedicated member of the Post over the past ten years.

Since 2004, Thompson has been a member of the Mobile Post Board of Direction. He has also served as Vice President and President of the Post, providing leadership for numerous programs and committees. He had the responsibility of locating the South Central Region’s 2013 Joint Regional JETS with the Post’s sister region in the South Atlantic Region. Under his guidance and leadership, Thompson facilitated the partnership between the Mobile and Pensacola Posts in the planning of the next South Central/South Atlantic Joint Regional Conference. Moreover, he was responsible for promoting the Academy of Fellows in the Post, which resulted in a new Fellow in each of the two previous years, in addition to the newly inducted Class of 2013 Fellow Col. Robert B. Keyser, P.E., USA (Ret.), F.SAME.

As Outreach and Communication Streamer Chair, he was responsible for GEMS, K-12 Outreach, USA Student Chapter, Mentoring, Scouts, and Public Relations activities. He was instrumental in positioning the Mobile Post to win this streamer with distinction for three consecutive years. Under his guidance, Mobile was named the top Large Post in 2011. As a Board Member, he promoted the development of the Director Emeritus position in Mobile and other Posts in the region. He mentored Young Members and other Post members to strive for higher positions and duties within the Post, thus continuing the tradition of Mobile’s history as a distinguished Post.

As an integral part of the Mobile Post’s Scores for Scholars Golf Tournament for several years, he coordinated the logistics and planning to make the fundraiser a huge success. In 2012, his hard work helped raise over $10,000 for engineering scholarships.

Honolulu, HI (01 March 2013)— Volunteers from Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), Honolulu Post hosted the “Juice Box Tower” challenge at the University of Hawaii (UH) Junior Engineering Expo.

The UH Junior Engineering Expo is held annually and hosts over 200 students from Oahu middle schools. Middle school students had a chance to meet UH engineering students and others in the engineering industry, including SAME volunteers from the Architect/Engineering (A-E) consulting field. Middle school students competed in various engineering competitions, such as bridge building, a marshmallow catapult and SAME’s activity - the “Juice Box Tower” structural competition. Students were given a stack of colorful construction paper and one roll of Scotch tape. The rules were provided to students prior to “construction” of their tower and students were asked to build a construction paper structure that would be given 1 point for each six inches of height and 2 points for every juice box that was able to be stacked on top of the structure. Students from each school had to work together as a team to determine the best approach for building their structure. After 30 minutes, all of the schools presented their structures and attempted to stack the juice boxes on the top. Most of the groups’ structures were able to hold all of the 16 juice boxes, however, some toppled and fell under the weight. Points were totaled and awards were given to the middle schools that won the most points in each of the different junior expo competitions. The students had fun along with the SAME volunteers and it was a great way to interact with aspiring engineering, science and technology students in a fun activity that demonstrates basic engineering concepts.